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Guru
The first guru, so the tales say, was a priest first, one who eventually came to doubt the true divinity of his chosen patron. Taking staff in hand, this priest traveled the world, seeking a higher truth. While pursuing this enigmatic truth, he learned many skills, training in the akashic arts with the reclusive vritra, battling bandits when they sought to accost him on the road, and always finding a way to repay the communities who fed and sheltered him, whether through teaching them one of the many techniques of healing, farming, or engineering he learned on his long travels. When the priest had grown old, and his travels grew ever shorter, he began to spread his knowledge, and his quest for truth, to students and proteges who came to him to learn what he had uncovered. Whether any guru has ever truly found a “higher truth” beyond the gods is unknown, but the quest continues to this day, with warrior-philosophers from all corners of the world traveling in search of it and spreading their knowledge along the way. Role: The guru train in mystic monasteries learning to harness their life energy and focus their spirit to subdue their enemies without taking their lives. The guru can forge his essence into a weapon capable of disrupting an enemy’s essence, causing non-lethal damage and even disturbing their inner flow of energy so severely that they succumb to debilitating effects like blindness or exhaustion. All gurus inevitably head out into the world to test their learning and gain new experiences, shaping and defining their Philosophy. Alignment: The guru can be of any alignment, but is typically Good. Evil creatures rarely see the value in mastering an art that leaves their enemies alive to fight another day. Starting Wealth: 3d6 × 10 gp (average 105 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less. Hit Die: d8. Class Skills: The Guru’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (History, Local, Nobility) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str). Skill Ranks per Level: 6+ Int modifier. Class Features Weapon and Armor Proficiency Gurus are proficient with all simple weapons. They are proficient with light armor, but not with shields. The guru may gain additional proficiencies based on their chosen Philosophy. Veil Shaping A gurus primary ability is shaping the magical power known as akasha into powerful veils, which are drawn from the guru veil list. She knows and can shape any veil from this list. The DC for a saving throw against a veil’s abilities is 10 + the number of points of essence invested in the veil + your Wisdom modifier. She can only shape a certain number of veils per day (see table below). Veils are constructs of pure magic and are suppressed while in the area of an Antimagic Field or similar phenomena. At 1st level she also gains access to her own personal pool of essence, which can be invested into veils to increase their power. The pool of available essence is listed in the table below; the guru’s character level, as noted in the attached supplement, determines the maximum quantity of essence she can invest in any single veil. As a swift action she can reallocate her essence investments into her veils every round. A guru does not study or prepare veils in advance, but must have a good night’s rest and must meditate for one hour to prepare her veils for the day. Gentle Touch (Su) All gurus learn to master the art of the gentle touch, a mystical martial art that involves dealing nonlethal damage with focused bursts of essence. By investing at least 1 point of essence in this ability the guru can charge a weapon granted by his philosophy with a rarified form of akashic energy. All attacks made with that weapon deal additional damage equal to the guru’s Wisdom modifier, but all damage dealt by the guru while this ability is active is nonlethal. A character can assign essence to their gentle touch ability as a swift action. For every point of essence invested in this ability, the charged weapon deals an additional 1d4 damage. This ability only works against living targets; undead and constructs are immune to its effects. Philosophy All gurus follow a particular philosophy. Usually the tenets of this belief are passed down by guru masters in varying schools and monasteries where like-minded individuals join them to discuss ideology. Guru’s gain special benefits based on their philosophy at 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th level. Many philosophy powers are activated by “burning” essence. Essence that has been burned to activate a philosophy ability cannot be used again for any other purpose until the guru has had a chance to meditate. Essence burn recovers at a rate of 1 point of essence per minute spent in meditation. (A full description of Guru Philosophies can be found here.) Stunning Fist (Ex) The guru gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat. For the purposes of determining how many uses of stunning fist you have available, treat your levels in the guru class as monk levels. The guru can use the stunning fist ability as part of any melee attack made using a weapon enhanced by his gentle touch ability. 1/day as a free action, the guru can restore a single use of stunning fist by taking 3 points of essence burn. The guru can restore a use of stunning fist in this way 1 additional time per day at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter. Chakra Binds At 2nd level and every three levels thereafter you gain the ability to bind veils directly to your chakras, unlocking potent abilities. You gain the ability to bind to slots in the following order: Hands, Feet, Head, Headband, Neck, Belt, Body. Sunder Veil (Su) At 2nd level the guru gains the ability to shatter magical defenses with focused thrusts of essence. When making an attack while using his gentle touch ability, the guru can expend a use of his Stunning Fist ability to attempt to end one ongoing spell that has been cast on a creature or suppress the active veils of an akasha user. When you activate this ability, make one dispel check (1d20 + your guru level) and compare that to the highest level spell currently active on the opponent (DC = 11 + the spell’s caster level) or the veil the opponent currently has the most essence invested in (DC = 10 + opponent’s character level + points of essence invested). If successful, that spell ends, or the targeted veil is suppressed for a number of rounds equal to your guru level. In addition, your gentle touch ability can now be used to damage undead and deals lethal damage to such creatures. Chakra Disruption (Su) At 3rd level, and every three levels thereafter, a guru gains the ability to inflict debilitating status effects on his opponent. The guru may make a single attack while using his gentle touch ability as a standard action, selecting a disruption he knows and applying it to this attack. The target suffers the chosen disruption unless they succeed on a Fortitude save equal to 10 + Wisdom Modifier + 2 per point of essence invested in the guru’s gentle touch ability. A single target cannot suffer the effects of more than one disruption at a time, though the guru can change the disruption currently inflicted on a target with subsequent successful uses of this ability. Unless otherwise noted such conditions end after a number of rounds equal to the guru’s Wisdom modifier as the afflicted creature’s body slowly reregulates itself. At 3rd level, the guru can disrupt the flow of energy in an opponent’s hands, making them clumsy and uncoordinated; opponents affected by this disruption take a –1 penalty to all attack rolls made with their hands or equivalent limbs (for example, a dragon’s primary claw attacks). This penalty increases by 1 per point of essence invested in the gentle touch ability. At 6th level the guru can damage the flow of essence through an enemy’s feet, slowing and hampering them. An enemy affected by this disruption has their movement reduced by 10 feet +5 feet per point of essence invested (minimum 5). At 9th level, a guru can block the flow of energy through an enemy’s shoulders causing his movements to become slow and predictable, too weak to properly hold a shield. Enemies affected by this disruption have both their shield and Dexterity bonuses to AC each lowered by 1 (minimum 0). These penalties increase by 1 per point of essence invested. At 12th level a guru can sever chakra connections associated with an opponent’s Headband slot, causing the opponent to be blinded for 1 round + 1 round per point of essence invested. At 15th level the guru can disrupt the delicate chakra connections in an opponent’s head slot, causing them to be stunned for 1 round. At 18th level the guru can almost completely block the flow of essence throughout an opponent’s body, causing them to become exhausted. Improved Essence Capacity The guru’s intense meditation has made him particularly talented at investing essence. At 4th, 10th and 19th level the essence capacity of all your chakra receptacles increases by 1. Seal Wounds (Ex) At 7th level, the guru’s talent with essence allows them to make small alterations to their own internal circulation. You gain the ability to close minor wounds you sustain by restricting the flow of blood and energy to the affected area; 1/day per class level, you can spend a move action to heal a number of hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier + 5 hit points per point of essence invested in this ability. You must choose how much essence to invest in this ability at the same time you shape your veils for the day, and you cannot reassign that essence until after an 8 hour rest. Crack the Shell (Su) The guru’s skill in controlling essence is now so potent that he can even damage physical objects with a touch. While using his gentle touch ability, the guru can attempt a sunder combat maneuver to sunder an item held or worn by his opponent. If the attack is successful, he deals damage to the item as normal for his gentle touch attack. This attack ignores ½ of the target’s Hardness. In addition, his gentle touch ability can now be used to damage constructs and deals lethal damage to such creatures. Sever the Flow (Su) At 16th level the guru’s ability to disrupt an opponent’s chakra has become so powerful that he can completely block their connection to the flow of magic. By spending a use of his Stunning Fist ability when he successfully attacks an opponent with his Gentle Touch, all magical effects currently affecting the target are disjoined as though affected by a special mage’s disjunction. That is, spells and spell-like effects are unraveled and destroyed completely (ending the effect as a dispel magic spell does), and the target must make a Will save for each veil currently shaped or lose its benefits until it can be reshaped. Unlike a standard mage’s disjunction, this ability does not affect magic items wielded or worn by the target. This effect can be resisted with a Will save equal to 10 + your Wisdom modifier + the number of points of essence invested in your Gentle Touch ability. Immortal Essence (Su) The guru’s mastery of the flow of essence both within himself and within his enemies has reached its ultimate peak and he can now steal a small amount of his opponent’s life force with his gentle touch. Whenever he successfully dispels an effect or suppresses a veil with his sunder veil ability, he heals a number of hit points equal to twice the amount of essence invested in his gentle touch. Whenever he successfully uses his sever the flow ability against an enemy, he draws some of their own arcane energy into himself, gaining a temporary pool of essence equal to the spell level of the highest level dispelled effect or the amount of essence invested in any suppressed veils (to a maximum of the guru’s essence capacity), whichever is greater. This essence lasts for a number of rounds equal to the guru’s Wisdom modifier and can be used to power any ability he could assign his normal essence pool to. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack; but they do overlap, allowing the guru to replenish temporary essence lost to essence burn. Favored Class Bonuses * Aellar: Increase the essence capacity of your Gentle Touch ability by +1/6. * Alicorn: Increase the DC of the Guru’s chakra disruptions by +1/5. * Atstreidi: '''Increase the essence capacity of the guru’s gentle touch class feature by 1/6. * '''Dreige: Increase the bonus from your reject fey guile racial ability by +1/5. * Dwarf: 'Increase the capacity of your Gentle Touch class feature by +1/6. * '''Eiremian: '''Gain 1/4 of a point of essence that cannot be invested in a receptacle. * '''Elf: '''Add one weapon from your weapon familiarity racial trait to your list of philosophy weapons. * '''Gamla: '(Akasin only) Add +1/4 to CMB rolls made with weapons from the polearm fighter weapon training group. * 'Gnome: '''Add one weapon from your weapon familiarity racial trait to your list of philosophy weapons. * '''Halfling: '''Add one weapon from your weapon familiarity racial trait to your list of philosophy weapons. * '''Houri: '''Gain +1/4 uses of your Stunning Fist ability. * '''Human: '''Gain +1/5 point of essence. * '''Kijin: '(Sineater only) Add +1/3 to the amount of essence burn restored by your Devour Sin ability. * 'Orc: '''Add one weapon from your weapon familiarity racial trait to your list of philosophy weapons. * '''Sobek: '(Sineater only) Add +1/2 to unarmed strike damage rolls. * 'Suqur: '(Vayist only) '''Increase the duration of aether ties by +1/2 round. * '''Woodborn: '''Add +1/3 to dispel checks made as part of your sunder veil ability. Category:Classes Category:Source: Akashic Mysteries